There is a marked paucity of empirically rigorous research that focuses on the impact that indigenous institutional influences can have on the internationalization strategies of entrepreneurs operating in developing countries. This study therefore explores the complex processes through which owner-managers of food-exporting SMEs in Ghana draw on cultural norms to build networks that enable internationalization, in the absence of formal institutional support. The results facilitate a better understanding of the hybridization of indigenous and global norms that underpin SME internationalization in Ghana and other developing economies, particularly in Africa. The study contributes to the theory and practice of interorganizational relationships and to international entrepreneurship in an African context.

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Bruton, G.D., Ahlstrom, D., and Li, H.L. (2010), 'Institutional theory and entrepreneurship: where are we now and where do we need to move in the future?' Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, Vol 34, No 3, pp 421-440.

Chetty, S., and Agndal, H. (2007), 'Social capital and its influence on changes in internationalization mode among small and medium-sized enterprises', Journal of International Marketing, Vol 15, No 1, pp 1-29.